Red Legacy
by eiyria
Summary: Cal and Niko are brought on a simple case, and find out it is bigger than they initially imagined.  Something strange is happening in the big city, and it has been making even the most peaceful creatures act uncharacteristically violent.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros Series or anything relating to them.**

**NOTE: This fic is a response to the November 2010 prompt RT-The Tumulas Community Boards: (http : / robthurmanbooks . proboards . com / index . cgi) I decided to construct a bigger plot, and the story grew.**

**Prompt: Use all the words: _parallel_, _affairs_, _candle_, _suspicion_, _responsive_, and _wicked_.**

**Word Count: 2,442**

* * *

CAL POV:

The man in front of me had eyes unlike anyone I had ever seen. They were a mix of purple and green like mixed Crayola paint. His eyes confirmed my **suspicion** concerning his non human nature. He smelt oddly of forest leaves and dew touched grass. He also had a powerful presence that I could not pin down. Unlike the other locals in the bar, the tall foreboding man in front of me had been nothing but kind. So when I saw his glass was empty, I took it upon myself to repay him.

"You look like you could use another drink," I said to him, "Here, let me get you one. On the house."

The man across from me held up his hand, shaking his head and smiling, "No, that is quite alright. If I have anymore I won't be fit to do my job. And with my luck, the new patron is bound to be a grade-A piece-of-work. "

I laughed; well, it came out more of a snort. "I've had my share of those." My mind flashed with memories of less-than-grateful clients and some that bordered on downright deceitful. Just thinking about them filled me with annoyance. Even if I never had to see them again, those jobs still found a way to bug the hell out of me. "Sometimes it seems there is no justice in the world."

The man raised his glass in salute and laughed. "I've yet to hear truer words." He put his glass down on the little napkin beside his elbow – at least someone bothered to use it. He extended his hand and reached for mine. I surprised myself when I took it and shook – who says I can't be courteous. If Niko saw this level of manners from me, he might have an aneurism. The man had a strong grip. "My name is Donovan," a smile quirked his features, "No last name, Donovan."

"Cal," I heard myself replying, "Caliban Leandros."

At hearing my last name his eyes widened a bit. I tried to keep my frown off my face. I suspected he had treated me well because he hadn't been able to determine my Auphe heritage, like so many at the bar could. My brother and I had been getting more attention by the supernatural community lately, and I figured the word 'Auphe' and 'Cal Leandros' had become synonymous. I waited for his response. A little twisted part of me took pleasure in seeing people squirm. I wondered what it would be this time. Rejection was popular lately, maybe a hint of disgust and a side order of scared-shitless to go with that

He surprised me though. "Leandros? Like _the_ Leandros brothers. The ones who run that investigations agency" For someone so well informed, he seemed a bit clueless.

"Yeah," I said, "That's me."

He grunted. "Nice work with the Yeti last week." He frowned slightly, "Hey," he leaned in closer and whispered, "What was up with it? I mean, Yetis are suppose to be violent, but not _that_ violent."

"You know, I wasn't really paying much attention to that, "I grinned a toothy-grin, "I was a bit preoccupied with it trying to tear my face off."

At this his grin mirrored mine. "You're funny kid. I like that."

I rolled my eyes in response.

Just then, some bluish-**candle**-wax-skinned douche-bag with a bad attitude decided to slam his mug down on the counter; something that is only really done in bad TV sitcoms. "Another," he smirked, "Auphe-bitch." Scratch that, this bad TV sitcom just upgraded to full blown bad soap-opera.

It took me a good five seconds to get my temper under wraps. Perhaps Niko's meditation was working or perhaps I'd just experienced the same scenario at work so many times that control was natural now. So I did the only thing I could do without being fired. I smiled. It creeps people out to a ridiculous degree.

He saw my smile, and his lake-water-blue eyes hardened. A spark of something **wicked** went through them. Quicker than I could see, he slugged me across the face, and sent my body flying backwards. My head smacked the granite countertop and my vision danced with a thousand twinkling stars. An odd burning odor that was strangely damp filled my over sensitive nose. Apparently my brain and mouth had stopped communicating with each other, because I gave one of my witty replies, "What's the matter blue? You fight like a girl!"

I couldn't tell what his reaction was, but I heard my boss Ishiah move in the general vicinity. They were talking, or yelling, I couldn't tell which. All the sound was muted and strangely slurred. I felt a strong hand loop under my shoulder and pull me up to my feet. I tried to stand on my own two feet, but my body had other ideas. I opted to accept the help, and the tall blurry figure led me to the back break room. I felt myself being helped into a chair, and I mumbled a quick 'thank you' under my breath.

I heard the tap water running and a few seconds later felt a cup pressed to my lips. Greedily I drank it down. After a few minutes the world seemed to fade back to normal. In front of me, Donovan sat watching me. When he saw I was relatively **responsive**, he said, "I called your brother using your cell phone, Ishiah is going to let this slide and he is going to talk to you soon."

As if on cue, Ishiah strode into the tiny break room. His wings did that appearing-disappearing thing that only happened when my boss was pissed.

"Uh…" I said, ever the witty one.

I turned to Donovan, "Are you sure you heard that right? Are you sure he didn't say 'I'm _NOT_ going to let this slide?"

My boss snorted in an uncharacteristically undignified manner. "Are you mad boy?"

I glared at him. But apparently, Ishiah was immune to my bad attitude after long term exposure over the past year.

He continued, ignoring me, "You went and provoked a Djinn! Do you know how stupid that is?"

I cocked an eyebrow in question. I'd never heard of a Djinn. Niko would know though. Niko always seemed to know. "Uh," I said brilliantly.

Ishiah's palmed his face exasperated. "Those things are seriously nasty. They are shape shifting creatures made of fiery wind and scorching steam. To top it off, they throw around some serious power." Ishiah looked tired. "Look, don't meddle in their **affairs**. You're just lucky I managed to talk Edan out of any potential grudge, and gave him a few free shots on the house."

The though of that SOB getting anything free sent me into a rage, "Ish! You just let that asshole drink free! What the hell man?"

My boss grabbed the scruff of the back of my shirt and gave me a hard shake. The bump on my head erupted in pain. "Don't," he spoke intently and emphasized every word, "Cause problems again." He let go of my shirt and I fell back into the chair I'd been sitting on. "Don't ward off more customers with your bad attitude." He turned promptly and strode out of the room.

"He's right you know," Donovan said.

I growled softly. I was not in the mood to hear it.

"I had to deal with a Djinn once. They're," he flicked his hand as if grasping for the word, "Difficult to deal with."

I groaned in defeat. Don't fuck with the Djinn. I got it. Message received. Whatever, I probably won't see the damn thing again anyways.

Before I even had to be moody, my older brother, Niko opened the door. He didn't need to slam the door open, yell, or make a scene. He just stared at me in a scary sort of way. His eyes moved up to the giant goose-egg bump on my head, then shifted to Donovan. Niko moved fast, faster than any human had business moving.

So, when Donovan managed to grab and stop the hands reaching for his neck, I was taken aback. "Caliban," Donovan grunted out, "Care to help out any?"

"Oh," I said, "Uh. Niko, he's cool."

Niko still didn't take his eyes off of Donovan.

I tried again, "Niko, he didn't do anything. He was actually trying to help me after I got smacked."

Finally, Niko loosened his grip on Donovan and stepped slowly away. The tall man held his hands up in a gesture of peace.

"Sorry about that," Niko said, "Its just my readings always mentioned fairies as dangerous."

Donovan eyed Niko before adjusting his shirt and smoothing out the wrinkles.

I looked back at them. "Fairies? What?"

"Never mind Cal," Niko said, "We're leaving."

On the way out, I turned back to look at Donovan. "So, you never told me what your job was. I think it is only fair, after all, you know mine."

A smile crossed the tall man's face, "I'm just a babysitter. A supernatural babysitter."

I fought back a laugh. I failed.

"Don't laugh," he said jovially, "It is a lot harder than it sounds."

Without another word, I joined my older brother outside. He tapped his foot impatiently.

"Careful Cal," he reprimanded. I didn't know if he was talking about Donovan, or my obvious lack of politeness.

I followed Niko out the door, and around the block. Finally we reached one of the few free parking lots in New York City. Somehow, by some universal force of karma, Niko had managed to get a spot. Granted, he had to **parallel** park, but it was still amazing in my mind. I clambered in the passenger side and settled in my seat.

After a few moments I looked at Niko. He was staring at me.

"What?" I asked slightly annoyed.

"Seatbelt on."

It was an order, so I complied. After buckling my seat belt, he finally started the car. I pulled the lever to make my seat go down, only to have Niko force it back upright.

"Don't go to sleep," he said, "The client's house isn't that far away from here. Besides," he looked at the swollen bump on my head, "From a medical standpoint, I don't think you should be sleeping. After all, you could have a concussion."

I groaned miserably, crossed my arms over my chest, and sank grumpily into my chair.

"So, do you want to tell me about what happened in there?" No matter how subtle Niko was being about it, the intent was clear, he wanted to talk about my fight. I didn't feel like it though.

"Why don't you tell me?" My voice carried an emphasized but separate message. Niko had called Donovan a 'fairy'. Normally, when he considered a creature we encountered to be dangerous, he'd inform me about it afterwards, whether I wanted to hear it or not. Now, he was astonishingly avoiding the subject.

My brother visually grimaced. "Alright," he said, "We'll tell each other everything. You tell me what happened first, then I'll tell you what I know." He looked at me seriously, "And remember, I'll know it if you lie."

I let out a breath. "Okay," I slapped my hands down hard on my knees, "Okay. Might as well get this over with. I got in a fight with a Djinn. He was a sort of blue-waxy colored muscular man with bright blue eyes. Anyways, he said some things," I motioned with my hand, "About my daddy-dearest." I slowly breathed out. This wasn't my favorite topic of conversation. "I didn't say anything back, I just smiled, and the guy took it so personally! And-"

"And you got hit," my brother finished.

"And I got hit," I affirmed. "I wasn't thinking clearly, and I might have said a few things. But then Ish got involved, and that guy, Donovan, helped me get to the break room."

"That's what I heard from the fairy on the phone," Niko said. His eyes never left the road as we pulled into the sub division.

"Why are you so against him, he seems like a pretty decent guy. He didn't give me a hard time about my bad genes."

Niko rolled his eyes. He actually rolled his eyes. "Cal," he said, as if speaking to a slow dimwitted child, "He is a supernatural babysitter. It is his job. I'm sure he has clients more aggravating than you."

Oh. That sort of made sense. I imagined a crying, howling, scratching, salivating werewolf cub and shuddered. Ten minutes alone with one, Slay, was more than enough time. I looked back at the road and didn't reply.

"Fairies," Niko began lecturing, "From what I've heard they aren't the pretty pixies legend makes them out to be."

"Like legend ever gets it right." I retorted.

"Well, they're dangerous. I'm not sure on their specific specs, but they are formidable. They are manipulative, and even if they can't tell a lie, they might as well be able to. " He took a breath before continuing, "I'm not sure what is true and what is not, but they've been known to sap energy and strength with a touch; they can deceive your eyes; and they can move at ridiculously fast speeds. But most importantly, they're rotten to the core. Human life means nothing to them except entertainment. They can track your location just by having your name."

I gulped. By some good grace, Niko didn't notice.

"They can be killed with iron or steel though, which is convenient in the city." He pulled in to a town-home garage. "Ok. We're at Delilah's friend's place." He turned to look at me, "Don't say anything stupid. You're in a bad mood, so just let me do all the talking."

I nodded in agreement. No problem. It was generally better when I didn't piss off the people who were paying us the big bucks.

"Promise told me some details over the phone. These are fine high-breed werewolves. The client wants us to find his daughter. She was reported missing two days ago after exhibiting odd behavior."

"Odd behavior?"

"Atypically violent."

"Hmmf," I snorted, "Everyone seems to be acting 'odd' lately. Besides, Two days isn't that long. And she's a werewolf Nik. She is probably just having a nice time chewing down on grandma with some friends."

Niko gave me a look. I promptly shut up.

"Now, try to be civil," he said as he knocked firmly on the door.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. Please review, and help the next chapter be more to your liking. :D**

**Also, erm... I'm probably going to need a beta. If you see any mistakes, tell me, and I'll edit them out. I'm a sciencey~mathy person, so, English is not my forte.**

**-Airyie**


	2. Chapter 2

CAL POV

I didn't hear our client, Fridolf Ulric, till he repeated the question. "Mr. Leandros, would you like some water?"

I raised my eyes out of my stupor, " Um. Yes," and after a quick look glare from my brother, I added, "Please."

The slightly muscular man hobbled over to an alcove kitchen, grabbed a glass, and filled it with ice and tap water. He turned and walked back through the doorway and over to the couch I was sitting in. He handed me the glass and I thanked him politely. This earned a small smile from Niko. Manners always did. The man sank into the spot next to me and ran his hand through is messy untamed dirty blond hair. His eyes were amber brown and he had a short beard growing. He looked more like a tired father than a bloodthirsty monster. But then again, so did I. Appearances can be deceiving.

"We heard the basic story from Delilah, but it would be important to our investigation if you can go over it briefly with us," Niko said.

Fridolf nodded and shifted forward on the sofa to reach in his back pocket. He pulled out a worn wallet. He flipped it open casually, an action he must have done thousands of times. He showed us the picture inside. It was a picture of a girl, no more than 16 years old. She had straight blond hair down to her chest, amber brown eyes, a track shirt and a runners build to go with it. A fancy water bottle holder was slung over one shoulder.

"My daughter," Fridolf said. "She went missing two days ago. I don't-" he stuttered, "I don't know what to do."

My brother gave him a moment to recover his composure. I slowly sipped my water glass and focused my gaze elsewhere. It was uncanny to see a werewolf break down. So uncanny in fact, that I would probably never see it again in my life. As far as supernatural monsters go, they're pretty prideful.

I was feeling a little antsy, and apparently my brain never got the memo when I said, "She's a werewolf isn't she? It wasn't a human kidnapper then, she would have torn him a new one."

Niko shot me a look and my mouth stopped moving.

Instead of slapping me like any sane person, Fridolf merely said, "Yes. That is why I called you two. My daughter is quite capable of taking care of herself in most circumstances. She would have called my cell if she were staying over at a pack member's house."

"Which means," Niko said, "Either the assailant was non-human or she left of her own accord."

"That is the conclusion I reached as well," Fridolf affirmed.

"You mentioned some behavioral oddities to Delilah," Niko inquired.

Fridolf frowned, making his wrinkles on his forehead stand out quite visibly and emphasize his age. "Over the past few weeks, Luna has been acting strange. It started off with little things, like more hours training for long distance running competitions and mouthing back. However, recently she has been getting angry over the littlest things. I passed it off as a wolf thing. I thought she was just getting older and restless. But," he looked down and twiddled his thumbs slowly, "But then some of the pack members started commenting on it. We wolves, we're not that violent towards our own pack. It isn't our nature."

Never catching a hint, Niko asked, "What happened?"

Fridolf bowed his head and muttered softy through clenched teeth, "She attacked a human in broad daylight."

There was silence.

"One of the pack, the second in command was there, and managed to get her out of public view before she changed, but," his voice broke, "Something is wrong with my little girl." His face fell into his hands, "Please, help me."

Ten minutes later, I thanked the distraught father for the water and left his home with Niko.

We got in the car and buckled up. I didn't even put up my usual 'seatbelt' fight. I was too disturbed. Werewolves shouldn't cry – It was too creepy.

Niko affirmed my thought, "Wow." Apparently, even he was flabbergasted. A second later he reached in his pocket and took out his phone.

"Who are you calling," I asked.

"Robin," he replied shortly as he glanced in the car's mirror and began to back out. "He has some contacts in the police. I can call and ask him to give me a ring if any cops catch wind of any violent crimes or behavior. Robin can also get us an APB on someone matching her description."

"This is why you're in charge Nik, " I chided, "Cus you've got all the brains." I made a dopey–zombie face and said, "Brainnssss."

Niko smacked me softly on the back of my head. "That is childish even for your standards."

I laughed.

Niko's attention snapped to the phone. I figured that Robin had picked up. "Yeah, Robin, it's me. I need some of your sources in the NYPD to help me find our client's daughter." Niko relayed the details to Robin and I settled into my seat.

Niko hung up and spoke to me without looking away from the road. "Cal, you should call Delilah. See if she can get in contact with this girl's pack. They might be able to find her faster than us, or maybe give us some ideas where she likes to hang out."

"I'll do it when we get home," I said.

"Lazy," he reprimanded me, "Do it now or you'll never get around to calling her."

I groaned and started dialing her number.

"We'll start looking for her tomorrow before you go in for work. I'm off, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Nik, do we have too! You know I'm not an early riser!"

He ignored my last comment and said, "Be ready at 5am for your morning run, then we'll start checking the locations from Delilah."

Delilah answered the phone and I asked her about our client's daughter.

* * *

**Words: 1015**

**Here is another quick update. I'm trying to finish these as fast as possible. I don't want to get bored, because bored=lazy.**

**Anyways, please review! Thanks.**

**-Airyie**


	3. Chapter 3

CAL POV.

Niko had lowered my sentence to 5 miles to my relief. I would have preferred not running at all, but beggars can't be choosers.

When I got home after the run, I was greeted by a warm shower and a message from Delilah on my cell. I dried my long black hair with a towel in one hand, and checked my voicemail with another. After listening to a brief message I yelled, "Nik! Central Park!" Apparently it was the girl, Luna's, favorite spot. It also was the place we had just come from. The memory of my morning run weighed heavily in my mind and I groaned in protest.

Just when my day couldn't get any worse, Robin called.

Niko's phone rang and he turned from his vegetable-sufle-something or another to pick it up off the counter. He put the mobile to his ear and said, "Ok. Thanks Robin. You've been a real help." He brought the phone away from his ear, looked at it and pressed the 'end call' button. He shoved the phone in his back pocket, turned to grab his coat, checked his pocket for a thick rope, and snagged his katana off the stand before speaking to me in a hurried tone. "Cal. Robin just got a tip from the police station. A girl matching Luna's description was said to be spotted off of Broadway, near the university. "

I grabbed my jacket and shrugged into it as I followed my brother out. "I know you don't like the subway," he said, "But we'll never get there fast enough by car with traffic this time of day."

I growled. I hate the subway. There are too many smells, and all of them bad. With a sensitive nose like mine, being down there for any period of time gave me a full on headache. Never the less, Niko was right and we may never have the chance again.

We ran to one of the subway entry points and managed to catch a ride before the doors closed. I covered my nose with my hands and shirt, trying to keep the smell out. I earned quite a few stares but ignored them. Just when my eyes started to tear up, Niko grabbed my shoulder and signaled that it was our stop. I eagerly hopped off and ran up the double flight of stairs.

When I reached the top I sucked in a big breath. Fresh air. There is nothing quite like it. And it would have been the most relieving part of my day if a giant bundle of blond fur hadn't rammed into me and thrown my body back into the subway terminal.

I think the smell was worse than smacking my already bruised head against the ground.

The furry bundle on my chest grew arms and teeth, before clamping down on my bicep. The pain cut threw my dizziness and I yelped. I drew back my other hand, made a fist, and rammed it at the furry face tearing into my arm. Maybe it was the adrenaline lending me power, because my punch actually seemed to hurt the beast.

Before I could even think about such things, my brother slid his katana between the fur-bag's jaws and twisted sharply. The creature yelped and released my bicep. "Cal," Niko called, "Grab the rope."

"Fuck the rope, just shoot it!"

"Use the rope," he commanded. "This is Luna, we can't kill her."

I grunted in reply.

"Use the rope," he said again, "Try to get it around her throat and choke her out."

I obeyed, and slunk around behind Niko to reach in his coat pocket for the rope. It was thick and well made. It was actually closer to a synthetic chord than a rough rope. Chains can be snapped by supernatural strength, a well-made rope is harder. I guess that is why they use it for bungee jumping.

Luna charged again. From a distance she looked more like a wolf than when she'd run into me. Niko parried her lunges and swipes with his katana and a short knife he had drawn out of his coat. He know his human strength couldn't rival hers, so he merely redirected her attacks, taking little damage.

The last lunge he ducked completely, and Luna went crashing into a poster-covered wall. Her head made a sick-smacking sound. Not waiting to see if she was unconscious or not, I bolted towards her and looped the rope around her neck. I criss-crossed the two ends of rope and put them in one hand. Once tight around her neck, I twisted my fist, further tightening the rope to the point of choking her.

Apparently the blow hadn't knocked her out and she struggled, trying to shove me off. With my free hand, I seized a patch of her fur and skin, digging my fingers in, and held on for dear life. Her movements started to get slower and thick, but I still held on, still tightening the rope. Her muzzle opened and closed, trying to get air to no avail.

Finally, the blond colored werewolf collapsed. And of course, all her weight fell on me. Niko was there in a second, tossing the wolf off of me. He took the rope from my clenched paper-white hands and went over to the wolf's body. While I tried to catch my breath, he started to tie the wolf's huge paws together in a strange knot. He probably learned how from one of his survival books.

I grumbled as I forced my body into the sitting position. Carefully I pushed myself up against the poster covered wall and simply watched Niko. He finished his fancy knots, and slung the animal over his shoulder. Niko was ridiculously strong.

He looked at me, then my bloody arm, then back at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I panted wearily, "I'm going to be fine. " I looked at the wolf on his shoulders, "What are we going to do with her?"

"Let's get this thing out of sight," he said, "Robin should have already called Fridolf. Either another pack member or himself will take her and pay us." He frowned at me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I said slightly confused, "I've had worse than this before. I'll be fine."

Niko didn't say anything; he just stared.

As far as uncomfortable silences go, it was a bit unnerving.

Luckly it was broken by the arrival of Fridolf. He bounded down the stairs towards Niko and myself. Someone, I presumed to be a pack member, followed steadily behind him. Niko saw the expression on my face, and turned to follow my gaze. He gently handed over Luna to her father and the other man. Fridolf whipped out his wallet and tucked a couple of fifties into Niko's outstretched palm.

"Thank you," Fridolf said and he turned to leave.

"Just a moment," Niko interjected. "Mr. Ulric, I was wondering if you knew what was causing her strange behavior. Attacking humans and changing in broad daylight are atypical to most werewolves."

Fridolf visibly sagged, "I'm sorry Mr. Leandros, I honestly do not know. Everything happened so fast, I don't understand it myself. It was just little things, like I've told you, and then she just snapped."

Niko nodded and dismissed Fridolf Ulric. He turned to me and said, "Come on Cal. Let us get you up the stairs, and we can wave down a cab."

The thought of not using the subway filled me with satisfaction. The cab smelled bad, but the subway was worse. I'd take the cab any day.

As we climbed the stairs up to the sidewalk, Niko said, "You've got work in a few hours, we need to get you looking presentable by then."

I growled softly, too pissed to speak. In under two days I'd had my head smacked twice and been bitten in the arm. I had a right to be moody.

Niko managed to wave down the first cabbie, and we drove in silence on the way home.

**Words: 1343**

**Another short chapter, but still on schedule! I'm trying to type this story as fast as possible. I'm looking for a beta, so, if you are willing, proofing this story would be a real help.**

**Please review! I love hearing what people think.**

**Special thanks to ****Lilynette****, who has been very supportive of this fic. Thank you!**

**Also, I've started a wiki up for the Cal Leandros series, and Rob Thurman's other work. Help add to it in your spare time.: http : / robthurman . wikia . com / wiki / Rob_Thurman_Wiki**


	4. Chapter 4

CAL POV.

When I stumbled in late to work, Ishiah gave me a look that could have flattened a charging lion. It was two hours past opening time, and the bar didn't have many customers.

I immediately recognized one of them as Donovan. He was sitting at a table with a fair-haired girl, who couldn't have been more than 18 at the most. He nodded at me in acknowledgement, and the girl turned to follow his gaze. Her eyes were the color of greenish-purple swirled paint, much like Donovan's. She had a delicately curving nose and features usually found on fashion magazines. Even though her mouth was small, her lips were full and juicy red. When she saw me, her eyes narrowed and she said, "How fowl."

Donovan gently gripped her chin and turned her head back to face him. "Now, now, that isn't very polite young miss."

"Who's the kid with the rotten manners," I asked without bothering to hide the snarl in my voice.

Donovan didn't even bat an eyelash at my snappy mood. "My newest ward. She needed a sitter."

"I thought you only did kids? Isn't she a little old to need a babysitter?" The last question was directed at the rude little self-important bitch.

"I usually don't babysit children Caliban."

It took me a second to recover from my confusion. "You're a babysitter who doesn't babysit? That doesn't make any sense." My anger seemed to deflate as I became more curious.

"There are some creatures who come into their power later in life. Milagro is something called a changeling. Only recently is she coming to understand who and what she is. I'm simply around to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone or herself in the process." He paused, "Perhaps you will need one soon as well."

I glowered. My bad mood was back. "And what exactly is that suppose to mean?" I retorted. The words came out of clenched teeth and sounded more like a hiss than a conversation.

I didn't have to ask. I knew what he was talking about. Six months ago I had gone on a road trip with Niko, and on it I had learned more about myself than I cared to know. I was doomed to become incrementally more Auphe as time passed. The thought of inevitably becoming a merciless insane monster was not something I cared to dwell on much.

Donovan just looked at me. "Sorry," he said finally, "My last comment was out of line."

"Yeah," I said, trying to keep my anger in check, "Yeah, it really was." I didn't even bother to wait for a reply, I stomped past him and into the break room to wash my hands before starting my shift.

I shrugged my jacket off and threw it over a chair and strapped on a clean apron. Ishiah was making me wear one. The official reason was to protect my cloths, but I had a sneaking suspicion that fewer customers were scared away when they saw big-bad-Cal dressed as a housewife. Whatever the reason, I brutally tied the straps behind my back before snagging a plastic cup and filling it with water.

Ishiah had a rule about eating on the job, but apparently a little bit of water was okay every now and then. I kept my cup constantly filled and within an arms reach.

I waltzed out of the break room and scrambled behind the bar, placing my cup of water on the back counter. During my preparation, a few more customers had come in, mostly a group of werewolves I didn't recognize.

I spent the next eight hours taking orders, mixing drinks, and avoiding dirty stares from the customers. I had to shake the money off of one smelly monster when he refused to chalk up cash or credit. It was a rather rambunctious night. There were two fights. Sort of.

The first occurred when a petty little human thief wandered in, trying to rob the place, and bit off a little more than he could chew. Well, the hungry customers did more chewing than the little man. He was made a meal of in seconds.

The second occurred when Donovan's ward's curiosity got the better of her. I had watched her glamour one customer's wallet to look like his beer. When he had tried to drink a bunch of leather-coated cash, he had turned to her and tried to smack her. Donovan had stepped in to stop him. They ended up brawling for a while. The wolves had cheered them on and I had sipped my water from afar watching. I was a bit surprised when Ishiah didn't kick them out. With all the odd things happening lately, it didn't really stand out to me.

Niko arrived some time after 12:30 and nodded in my direction to catch my attention. I caught his gaze and held up a finger to tell him to wait a moment. I called out to Ishiah and told him I'd be leaving. Niko followed me into the break room, snagging my water cup from the back counter on the way. He muttered, "Sloppy Cal," more to himself than to me, and dumped out the remaining water down the drain. I undid the apron and grabbed my jacket.

"So," I said nonchalantly, "Do you think maybe I could drive your car home?"

"No," he said, and my face dropped noticeably, "We're walking home tonight."

I felt a frown sketch itself into my features.

"Exercise is good for you Cal."

"Niko-" I growled.

He cocked an eyebrow at my reaction, turned to open the break room door, and held it open for me. I followed him out and we hit the street.

It was a perfect ending to a less than perfect day. I'd saved the girl, gone to work, made money to pay the bills, and was heading home for a warm shower and a nap. However, as it turned out, the universe takes great pleasure in torturing me beyond the limits of coincidence.

As I stretched my arms out over my head, something akin to a vine shackled round my wrists and pulled me up in a matter of seconds.

I screamed. A manly scream.

My brother had already noticed the creature's presence though. He had grabbed one of my thrashing legs and vaulted himself within arms reach of the tendrils that held me prisoner.

Niko gripped the tendril firmly with one hand, and with the other, reached into his coat and pulled out a relatively small battle-axe. That's Nik in a nutshell, connoisseur of all types of bladed weapons. And he manages to keep the majority of them in the pockets of his long coat –without anyone being the wiser.

Axe-hand waving, after a few strikes he managed to cut through the bark-like vine holding me hostage. I dropped to the ground in an undignified manner, recovered, and reached for my guns.

I spotted the leafy-mother-fucker on the top of a low-rise building. It was humanoid, but definitely not human. Its skin looked more like tree bark, covered in parts by thick green moss. From a distance I could see its vine-appendages had more in common with twisted branches than jungle vines. Where its eyes should have been were black holes. What I presumed to be its mouth opened up into a cavern filled with thousands of outward pointing splinters.

Oh my god. I got my ass kicked by a tree.

"Dryad," Niko stuttered while fending off the plant monster. The sound of his voice brought me back to the present. I pointed my guns at the homicidal tree, took aim, and pulled the trigger repeatedly. The humanoid figure rocked back a few steps, but other than that, seemed completely unfazed.

"Nik!" I cried, "It isn't doing anything!" Not knowing what to do, I reloaded and shot at it again. It seemed to take the last slugs a bit harder, but still it didn't fall.

Niko whipped out a lighter. I don't know where he got it. He doesn't smoke. But he took it out and tried to light it while fending off the Dryad. On the fourth flick, I smelt the odor of burning flame. He quickly crouched to pick up one of the tree's fallen branch-arms and quickly lit it on fire. Once the flame had spread, he leapt forward into the Dryad's attacking appendages.

My brother promptly jumped out of the creature's clutches and back towards me. "Cal, " he said, "Run. Follow me."

I obeyed, but checked over my shoulder at the Dryad. Niko's flames had spread up its appendages, and were getting close to its main body. Unable to detach them, the creature flailed.

"Nik, come on. Can't we call a cab? I'm tired," I complained.

"Please grow up Cal, it isn't that far of a walk. Just be grateful that the Dryad didn't kill you."

I scoffed.

"What did you do to it anyways to make it that angry?" he asked.

"What makes you think I made it angry?" I half yelled. "You always think I did something wrong!"

His expression became unreadable, "I do not. Cal," he paused, "When have I ever thought that?" He reached for my shoulder, a familiar gesture.

My hand intercepted and slapped his down. "Maybe for once I didn't piss it off! Maybe it just attacked me because it wanted to eat me or something?" I yelled. It was late, and no one was around to hear or see us.

"Cal," he spoke slowly and softly, the way you do to crazed animals, "Let me bring you home, and then we can talk. Whatever's got you on edge, we can ta-"

I cut him off, my body taking a defensive position. "Talk, talk, talk. All you ever want to do is talk," I hissed. "Have you ever thought, that maybe I don't want to talk! Can't you mind your own business? Piss off."

Niko's face hardened. "Cal, you're not feeling like yourself. You're in a bad mood. You just need to calm down-"

"I'm not in a bad mood! I'm feeling fine! Fine-fucking-tastic! Better than I've felt in a long time."

He reached for me, and tried to pin my arm in a lock, but I anticipated it and moved out of the way fast. Faster than ever before. I slugged him across the face and he hit the pavement. Wow. I hadn't ever hit my brother out of anger. I hadn't ever been that strong.

Emotions were welling up inside of me, mostly anger. So much anger that all I could see was red. My brother put his hand over his cheek and stood up. He glared at me, but there was a glimpse of something scared in his eyes. Scared for him, scared for me, I didn't care. All that mattered was getting this anger out. Scratching out of existence the one who caused it. The only thing that would satisfy me was knowing he was hurt beyond repair. It was no longer for revenge, or for anger, I simply wanted to see him hurt, bleeding, and broken on the cement pavement.

Then anger turned into thrill. The melody of the hunt thundered in my ears and my fingers twitched, wanting to be covered in thick red liquid.

"Something is wrong with you. I'm sorry about this, but I'm going to bring you home." Or, that's what I thought he said. I was too far-gone, lost in the intoxicating madness that surrounded me like the crashing waves of the ocean. Something inhuman came rattling out of my throat, and I saw my opponent's arm reach for a katana I knew was in his clothing.

I attacked on instinct before he could fully draw it. My nails swiped at his face. He ducked low, drew his blade quickly from the sheath, and rammed the back end into my gut. My nails grazed his cheek, leaving long dark beautiful indentations in their wake.

I gripped my stomach and leapt backwards a bit to put distance between us, resisting the urge to double over from the blow. Before I could land, the blond one was already upon me, swooping from one side, and maneuvering around my back. The blond locked my arms behind my back and pulled them upwards. My mind went white with pain.

I snarled, and tried to whip my head backwards to bite the blond one. If I could only sink my teeth into him, and rip a large chunk out, he would be weak. Weak enough that I could play with him. Cut him up. Inflict pain –maybe for weeks.

"Fun, fun, fun, " I cackled as I tried to bite the blonde's arm to no avail. He held on tighter, but I was beyond the searing white pain now. I felt strength fill my body and I thrashed to my right forcefully. The blond went fling into the empty street.

I was about to go after him. To hurt him, torture him, consume him; when my hand holding my stomach felt strangely warm. I looked down at the thick dark color coating my hands.

I hissed at my opponent, and drew my arms protectively around my belly. I decided it was better to retreat and lick my wounds. There would always be later. I would find the blond and finally have some fun. I smiled at the thought, before seeing him stand up.

He came after me again, but I'd had enough. I'd challenge his strength later, but now I needed rest.

I turned quickly and ran quickly down the street. I ducked into an old alley, pausing only to hiss at a bluish-black cat with lake-water-blue eyes.

I outran the sheep easily, and didn't stop till I could smell him no longer. I found a cold dark place where the sound of water lulled me into silent slumber.

* * *

**Word Count: 2,365**

**Ok kids! One more chapter down. And I've reviewed it like 3 times so errors should be close to zilch. The easy part is over, now for the hard part.**

**BTW, writers out there, in the Cal Leandros section, you can now specify up to two characters for your story. So click SignIn/Username(topRightCorner)Click'Publish'TabClick'MyStories'Click'Edit'optionSelectCharacters.**

**If you're having trouble with this, I made a picture guide version here:(Remove spaces)**

**http : / robthurmanbooks . / index . cgi ? board = fanfiction &action = display&thread =478**

**And as always, Review PLEASE!**


	5. Chapter 5

CAL POV

I woke up feeling the chill of damp air against my skin. My mind felt all fuzzy and foggy. I didn't know where I was, and I wasn't sure I cared. I smelled the moist scent of flowing water and muddy dirt. And beneath that a faint trace of something burning. I extended my fingers and felt silk fine earth wetly clump beneath them. Slowly I forced my heavy eyelids open, and the world adjusted into focus.

I was on my stomach and dirt, pipes, and wooden frames trademark of a construction site surrounded me. Even if it had been morning, the sheer amount of wooden frames would have still provided my alcove with shade and darkness. Ten or so feet from me I saw a large pipe descend into the ground. A small rectangular section of it was removed, its edges seared by something hot. Water thundered through it, and a few droplets sprayed over the edge, and soaked into the pastel colored earth.

Then I remembered. Niko. The night before. It all came back to me, and I remembered it all with such clarity. Involuntarily my body let out a dry sob.

"Oh. So it's alive."

My head snapped towards the voice so fast that I felt a kink in my neck. My eyes settled and hardened on Edan, the blue Djinn who'd bitch-slapped me across the bar. He walked over to the open pipe, took out a bottle from his pocket, and slowly emptied it into the hole. He pulled a glass cup out of his pocket, collected some water from the pipe, and shook the empty bottle a few times over it. A few drops fell into the cup. He set it down on the ground nearby.

I felt a growl begin in my throat, and I stopped, confused. I don't growl. Why was I growling? What was I? An angry dog? I shook such thoughts out of my head and glowered at Edan.

He had a grin that spread across his whole face like some insane clown from a horror fest.

I surprised a gulp.

Clowns. He looked like a clown.

Oh god.

Before my imagination conjured up even more disturbing thoughts, he started talking, "Seems like you've figured it out."

I hadn't, but when villains begin to spill their super secret plans, it is usually in everyone's best interest to listen.

"Your behavior has been teetering on the violent side lately," he said as he took a step closer to me.

Unconsciously I tried to back up, only to find out my alcove didn't extend any farther behind, and I was tied up, something I had failed to notice before.

Edan cocked his head to the side, "So, naturally I took the initiative to tie your down. After all, I can't have my newest pet recruit try to eat me."

"So sorry," I spat, "But I don't remember signing up to bunk with you, Blue."

The smile quickly turned into a frown. "Cocky," he murmured. "I'll have to teach you manners later."

I got quiet really fast. Something in his tone of voice made me want to cower further into my alcove, but my pride managed to keep me in place.

"I've been concentrating some of my essence and mixing it with some drugs to taint the water supply. Whoever ingests too much of the pollutant will have some adverse effects," he smiled to himself. "It lowers inhibitions, then brings out what individuals consider to be their weakness, and through chaos, transforms it into our greatest strength."

I cocked an eyebrow confused. Best to keep the psycho Djinn occupied while Niko came up with a plan to rescue me. I knew he would.

"It seems you are a bit slow. The Auphe never were to keen on following logic," he mumbled under his breath, "The werewolf girl was living mainstream, and thought her violent nature was bad for her social life. The clients in the bar experienced a loss of control. The peaceful Dryad kept his temper under wraps in favor of a peaceful existence." Edan paused, "And you. You have always considered your monster heritage a bane on your existence; a weakness that prevented you from being human. " If it was possible that crazed smile got even wider, "A delusion that is perfect for my plans."

"I don't understand, " I stuttered confused. "Why would you want to do this? Why do you want to destroy these people's lives? Are you aware other innocent people are getting hurt in the process? How does this benefit you in any way?"

"Chaos," the Djinn replied. He squatted down to my eye level. "I thrive on chaos. New York is my new home. I intend to make it a comfortable one. By creating chaos, I'm going to make this a lovely place to live." He ruffled my hair somewhat and stood up, "And you are my ticket to making chaos happen on an even bigger scale than I first anticipated."

He walked back to the pipe, knelt down to pick up the glass of water, and turned to walk back towards me.

"Drink~y Drink~y," he said in a sing-songy voice, "Then I can release you in some place public to cause mass fear. Oh!" he jumped a bit on the balls of his feet, "Maybe the university where the wolf-girl was found! Find one crazy person it's a coincidence. Find two crazy people in the same location and it's a drug problem." He mumbled to himself, "Yes, yes. This could cause mass panic and chaos."

He moved faster than I've ever seem a non-human move -exceptions to my paternal family of course-as he grabbed my chin forcefully and squeezed it open. His strong hand tilted my chin upwards, and two fingers from the same hand held my mouth open. With the other hand he poured the water into my mouth. Quickly he threw the glass away, grabbed my nose, and forced my mouth shut to prevent me from spitting it out.

I thrashed and struggled for a bit. Eyes burning and throat trying not to swallow, but my body needed air, and my mind knew it. When the contaminated water went down my throat Edan let go of my nose and mouth. I panted and breathed like it was the first breath of my life.

I felt angry with him for what he'd done. My world started to go red, but I knew what was happening. I was ready for it, and I'd be damned if I let this son-of-a-bitch use me as his lackey. I tried to force myself to breath easy, to meditate like Niko had taught me, but it was so god-damned hard!

My breathing became steady, but my emotions were anything but. My eyes locked on his bluish form. Why fight it? Why not embrace these raging feelings, use them, shape them, and claim vengeance upon the one who did this to me. Edan wanted Auphe, I'd give him Auphe.

My anger, exhilaration, rage, and ecstasy coalesced into something hungry, nauseating grey, and overwhelmingly huge. This emotion was beyond controllable and as terrible as the stormy ocean.

And while his back was turned, my arms snapped the binding ropes like fragile silk threads, and I vaulted at his back fast enough to make my surroundings blur like blood and wet mud. Arms extended, I tried to rake at his back.

He must have sensed me coming, because he turned to intersect my lunge. He was fast, almost as fast as me, but he was the more experienced fighter. His hand reached around my extended arm, and just as I was about to claw into his bluish torso, he forcefully grabbed a fistful of my hair and threw me sideways into an array of support beams.

I rolled with the throw, and managed to right myself up onto my feet. I could smell confidence oozing from his every pore, and my body reveled in the thought of that confidence turning into fear. Some deep part of myself told me there was nothing that smelled quite like it. The same part told myself that killing him would be the absolute greatest moment of my life.

My body tensed with anticipation, and I approached him again, trying to slip behind his back, where his eyes could not follow.

He saw me of course, and right before I could grab him and snap his neck, he disappeared in a burst of fiery blue steam.

I twisted around to look for him, and sniffed the air. The entire construction site stunk of damp stagnant moisture and something burning, and this bizarre combination stung my nose.

Suddenly, the burning odor became overpowering, and shot a glance out of the corner of my eye to see the Djinn raise a fist to slam me in the back. I sprang out of his fist's trajectory just barely.

My foot slipped in the wet clay-like mud, and I fell to the ground. My instincts kicked in and I used the speed of my fall to clip the Djinn's ankle with my foot.

He fell to the ground too, and before he could register what had happened, I was on him. I was unarmed, and had very few of the strengths available to my paternal family, but I did have teeth. I quickly latched on to his right ear and proceeded to tear it from his head.

While not a fatal wound, it was a serious one that impaired the senses, and made my prey that much weaker.

I tore the chunk of ear vigorously from his head, and he let out a loud bellow of rage.

His cold lake-water-blue eyes focused on me with a hatred I had only seen a few times in my life, and perhaps, a tiny bit of fear. That fear threw me into overdrive, and I felt a grin that was not my own tug at my face.

He grabbed me by the scruff of my neck, and with incredible strength flung me off of him, his ear still in my mouth.

I recovered and spit the ear out. After all, when I was done with him, I could eat better parts of him, and my brother would be none the wiser.

This thought pushed me to action, and once more I launched myself at him, abet, more careful of the slick mud than I had been before.

The Djinn tracked my movements with uncanny precision, but I managed to land a swipe at him. Tiny grey rips in reality coated the tips of my fingers, and tore though the skin below his shoulder blades.

To my disappointment, no blood came out of the wound, which threw me into an angry frenzy. I thought I saw dark blue, almost black, liquid ooze from the deep gash, only to evaporate into a barely visible steam.

Perhaps it was simply a hallucination because my head was pounding and my ears burned with a high-pitched pain.

I didn't understand what was going on, the Djinn was right in front of me, I wanted to tear him apart, but I couldn't. My body physically wouldn't let me.

I doubled over, covering my ears with my hands, and putting my head in my knees. Oh god it hurt!

I was confused, whimpering, and rocking myself in the fetal position to try and quell the pain, when I saw the blue-eyed monster coming closer. His hand was raised, getting ready to backhand my face, like I had seen on so many of Robin's soap operas.

I didn't know what to do. The drug-induced insanity was ebbing away, and reality was quite literally coming to smack me in the face. Still, my body kept feeling heavier and heavier, like a bad dream.

I feebly pulled my hands away from my screaming ears, to try and ready some sort of defense against the oncoming onslaught. However, when I actually saw my hands I was shocked into stupor. There was blood on them. A lot of blood, all of it mine. It had to be, because the Djinn didn't bleed.

The Djinn stopped his stride in front of me, and the world slowed down into slow motion. He raised his hand a little bit more, and brought it down to intercept my cheek.

It never made it that far.

Niko had arrived.

* * *

**2068 words. My editing job wasn't that great on this one, but I'm trying to get up at least a chapter a week... So, you know, sacrifices happen. Anyone want to beta this? Oh well, it is almost done.**

**

* * *

**

**BLURB CONTEST: (Got this idea from Nightcrawler)**

**My blurbs suck. So, try to make up your own blurb for this story, and if it is good enough, It will become the official burb!**

**And as always, please review!**

* * *

**Have you ever forgotten a name of a character, monster, or place for the Leandros series? If so, check out: http : / robthurman . wikia . com / wiki / Rob_Thurman_Wiki And add to it if you can! (remove spaces for link)**


	6. Chapter 6

CAL POV

Through half lidded eyes, I saw a gleaming sharp object slice the Djinn's meaty blue arm off at the elbow. It was silent for a moment, before an anguished howl erupted from his throat. I heard the soft thud of the severed limb hitting the ground, and I painfully turned in its direction. Even disconnected from the body, the fingers twitched. I saw the cleaved elbow sizzle and turn into the strange blue steam. I stared fascinated at it, while the pain pounding in my head prevented me from focusing on more important things.

I faintly registered someone saying, "Come on kid," and grabbing the scruff of my jacket to pull me backwards a little, and away from the fray. Unconsciously I let out a throaty snarl, but subsided in a second when someone's fingers touched my bared neck. Then, three fighters in front of me drew my attention.

Robin was there, waving his blade in a classy way, and dogging the blue Djinn's single-handed strikes.

Shit. Edan was fighting with only one hand, and Niko and Robin could only barely keep up. I hadn't remembered our fight being _that_ difficult. Had he been that fast when fighting me? Had he been that quick? Or that strong? The only way I'd ever be able to reach speeds like that was if -.

Worry filled me, dulling the pain in favor of something worse, and I looked up at the person who had dragged me away from the Djinn's arm reach. Purple-green eyes, the color of mixed Crayola paint stared back at me. Donovan.

"I-I-I went-," I stammered, "I went Auphe. Didn't I?" The last part I said with a hint of shame and fear.

Shit. The Auphe scared me. Being like them scared me even more. This was just more undeniable proof of what Raferty had said to me. Like a cancer, this was going to get worse, spread, and eventually take over my life. I grimaced and pushed such thoughts out of my head. In a fight, you can't afford to be thinking of anything other than your opponent.

After a moment's pause, Donovan replied in a cool tone, "It wasn't your fault."

"The hell it was!" I spat furiously, before facing forward. My eyes oriented on the fight ahead of me, and I watched Niko narrowly dodge the Djinn's strike. I was able to see a bit clearer than I had a few minutes ago, and I noticed the Djinn's single hand had warped into something that closely resembled Edward Scissor Hands' iconic fingers.

I felt a wave of grey dizziness and nausea pass over me. I felt Donovan's hands steady me, one on my back and one on my hand, and he spoke again, "You really look like shit right now. From what Niko has told me, it seems like you made a gate."

"I didn't make a gate," I said irritated, but then my mind flashed back to the swipe I landed below the Djinn's shoulder blades. I sucked in a breath, remembering the tiny hungry gates that had encircled my fingers. "Oh," I said after a pause. "That was an accident."

In my peripheral vision I saw Donovan nod almost to himself. I focused back on Niko and Robin; they were, after all, fighting for me.

I tried to push myself up to join the fight, but Donovan's grip tightened and stopped me. "You are in no position to help them. Just stay here," he paused mid thought before continuing, "The drug he gave you is still in your system. The pain in your head from gating combined with my touch seems to have brought you temporarily back to sanity. If you join the fight and loose it again, you may just make problems for your brother."

I shot him an angry look out of the corner of my eye, but I knew there was merit in what he was saying. The tired, lazy, and unusually fuzzy part of me agreed. Rest, recover, and live to hunt another day. It sounded like something Delilah would say, and for some reason that thought elicited an insane giggle from my throat.

Donovan's voice was soft to my bleeding ears. "I'm going to go help them. Stay here." Something in his voice made me listen, and like a good dog, I stayed.

I saw Donovan's tall form walk out in front of me. I faintly smelt forest leaves and dew touched grass, before the smell melted in with all the others from the construction site. There were so many smells, and their combined stink was starting to give me a headache.

He pulled up an edge of his loose fitting shirt, and started removing his belt. He pulled it off with a quick tug and flip of his wrist. Sound cracked, and only then did I recognize the belt as a whip.

It was entirely black. The handgrip was made of dark and tightly bound leather. I couldn't recognize the material the chord itself was made of, but I did notice it was thicker than the stuff I'd seen on the Discovery Channel. It was long and must have weighed thirty or forty pounds; not something an average human could have used, moreover, worn around their waist.

I felt a smile tug at my face, and I looked at the fighting Djinn. If that whip was any indication, Edan was about to die, preferably in a horrible whip-induced way.

Edan seemed to have noticed too, because when he saw Donovan his eyes got really wide and he did –well, he did something. There was a ripple of blue steam and he disappeared as Niko and Robin's blades sliced down on nothing.

He reappeared quickly behind them in another flash of blue steam.

I opened my mouth to call out to them.

In less than a second, I saw a layer of blue steam rise off Edan and coalesce in a strange way around him. Within a blink of an eye he was a gigantic blue grizzly with lake-water blue eyes, which had apparently gained a few pairs of arms.

Faster than any animal I'd ever seen, he reached for Niko and Robin's unguarded backs. Before his thick candle-wax blue claws could rip into skin, I heard a choking gasp, and saw Donovan's dark black whip cut into blue fur and thick skin.

Donovan flung his fist down, and the whip followed that motion in a wave-like form. When the wave reached the blue bear's neck, the giant animal was thrown on his back, skull cracking despite landing on soft construction earth.

Still, the blue bear fought to get up. I looked at Donovan, only to find he'd disappeared somehow. Probably one of his fairy powers.

The multi-armed bear creature looked back and forth, trying to find the threat, only to remember at the last moment that there were in fact multiple threats.

Niko and Robin had taken Edan's crucial moment of forgetfulness, and used it to their advantage. Robin cut downward, severing two of the bear's limbs on the left side. Let me tell you, severing a limb is a lot harder than people give it credit for, especially when the limb in question, is a bear's limb. There is about four to six square inches of flesh and muscle to cut through, topped off with a freaking bone that is strong as hell. There is a reason people have invented bone-saws.

Robin's supernaturally powered strike gave Niko a de-clawed opening. Niko, being Niko, took it, and shoved his short sword through six inches of mutant bear chest-muscle and into its heart. Then Niko used the remaining momentum to twist the blade ninety degrees. Ouch.

The two leapt back as the bear spasmed and convulsed. Niko drew out his katana from somewhere in his jacket, and was immediately on guard.

I heard Donovan's voice emit from somewhere, "Cut the head off," but I couldn't see him anywhere.

Niko tried to approach the Djinn, but with all the flailing claws couldn't. Niko, despite appearances, is human. And like most humans, bear claws and him don't exactly mix.

I saw a blue mist begin to form on the Djinn's skin again, but it was much slower this time and somehow sluggishly pained. He was about to disappear again in a puff of blue steam or perhaps shape shift again. He was going to get away.

I felt something dark stir in me. Maybe it was the drugs or maybe it wasn't, but I wasn't going to let this guy escape. I was going to kill him here. It was my kill, why should I give anyone else the satisfaction that I clearly deserved. I was closest to his head, farthest from his claws, and he never anticipated me coming.

I crept outside of his vision, crawling on my hands and knees, and keeping my belly close to the ground. When I reached him, I quickly pulled Niko's short sword out of his heart, and chopped right back down. I put all my weight behind it as the beast locked eyes with me. I didn't look away.

When I pulled the sword away it was dry and devoid of any blood. The creature in front of me went limp and unmoving. Its skin seemed to tighten and its fur fell out in nasty clumps.

I just stared, and admired my handiwork before turning to my friends with a stupid grin on my face.

Who's next?

I felt my grin widen and stretch my face. Niko looked like he was going to be sick, not that anyone other than me could tell, he had one hell of a poker face. Robin shifted beside him uncomfortably.

I heard a hiss, like air escaping slowly from a balloon. I looked over my shoulder and saw Edan's shrunken bear corpse combust in a spray of blue dust. Momentarily distracted I turned back to Niko and Robin. They hadn't moved an inch. How stupid of them.

Looking much more composed than he had before, Niko called my name, "Cal." I twitched involuntarily. Just him saying my name caused my mood to go sour, and I glared at him in reply.

"Cal," he said again, softer this time, more controlled.

I felt myself relax a bit, but greasy terrible thoughts still plagued the forefront of my mind. The conflicting emotions confused me, and I didn't like being confused.

Before my body or my mind could work out what to do, I felt someone scoop me up single handedly. The movement was so fast I couldn't register what was happening. However, when it was done, I found myself being carried like a child by Donovan the freaking fairy. I tried to push away, but found my arms pressed against me in such a way that I couldn't move them or get any leverage. Man would've made a damn good babysitter; the kids never had a chance.

After that, things got blurry, and I thought they might have doped me up with something else. I heard the dulled sound of Niko slowly releasing a breath. "I appreciate it," he said. I'm not sure to whom the thanks was meant. The world had gotten pretty fuzzy around the edges, but regardless, I made an effort to listen.

"Not a problem," the other voice said, "You can pay me extra."

I felt an odd rocking, and my eyes felt heavy.

"Do you know what is wrong with him?" a Niko-like voice asked.

"You heard the Djinn. The concoction is messing with his insides." The voice paused before continuing, "Ah, but you meant to ask if he was going to recover. Well, yes. Give it a day to get out of his system and he should be fine. Actually, as long as no one starts fighting or getting jumpy, you could probably pass him off as 'fine' now."

We were moving. I don't know when they had started walking. I was fighting just to keep barely awake. Call it my stubborn streak. God damn it, I was stronger than this.

"Hey tall, dark, and handsome, mind teaching me that little put-me-to-sleep trick? It could come in handy, and we could practice on each other," said Robin. I knew it was him, because I recognized that libido fueled tongue anywhere, it couldn't have been anyone but Robin.

I heard the clunk of boots on wood, and felt being carried up some stairs. Someone laughed quietly. "I'm sorry Puck, but it seems this trick is unique to me and my kin. And, ha, I don't really lean that way, if you know what I mean."

Someone grunted. It was a thoughtful grunt. It was probably a Niko-grunt.

"Now where did we park the car?"

I lost track of time and the conversation until I felt myself being lowered into the rear seat of Niko's old shit-mobile. The fluffy cloud feeling began to dissipate the second the person's hands left my skin.

I blinked open dreary eyes to find everyone in the car with me, talking to one another. Niko was in the front seat driving. Robin was next to him, head rested against the window. And Donovan sat stiff-backed next to me.

I flapped my mouth open and closed a few times before trying to speak. "Nik, how did you find me? Shit. I mean, what the hell just happened?"

"Don't try to get too riled up Cal, I'll explain. One thing at a time." He checked me in the rearview mirror. His eyes looked tired and his face looked worse for the wear, and somehow older. "You-," he seemed at a loss for words, "You snapped. After you disappeared I didn't know where to find you, or even where to start looking. " He let out a soft chuckle, probably stress induced, because Niko did NOT 'chuckle'. "Anyways, by some miracle I remembered your facial expression after I told you about fairies. Specifically about them being able to find you if they had your name."

Niko visibly sighed, and Robin cracked an eye open, clearly interested in the juicy conversation. To the puck, it must have been like watching one of his mid day soap operas live.

"So, I tracked down Donovan. He was at the Ninth Circle handing off his client to someone. I asked him to help me find you."

Donovan grunted. "If you call trying to put a knife to someone's throat 'asking'," he grumbled softly. "Robin, what do you think? Is that kind of behavior usually referred to as 'asking'?"

Robin smiled and I could tell he was about to open his mouth to say something hinky. One glare from Niko shut him up before he could even get out a peep.

"Robin, I swear, if you answer that," Niko said. He left the last part of the threat unfinished. Robin smile turned into a pouty frown. Oh, sweet rejection.

"Anyways, he agreed to help," said Niko.

"For a price," Robin cut in.

"Gentleman," chimed in Donovan, "I_ am_ a professional. I don't do the pro bono thing. It is un-business like and cuts into my bottom line."

"Giving your name to a fairy, Cal, is normally one of the dumbest things you could of done, but-"

"But I'd be dead if I hadn't," I finished. It was true. Giving a supernatural heavy weight the equivalent to GPS on your persona was stupid. Infinitely stupid. Granted, I hadn't done it intentionally, but it was still never the less stupid. However, had I not made such a mistake, I would have been still at the mercy of a psychotic Djinn with a chaos-god-complex. No one had known where I was, not even me. A shiver went down my spine. I might have never seen Niko again. The thought terrified me.

"On my way over with Robin and Donovan, it hit me. We were talking, and everything came together. The Djinn repeating it only confirmed it. All the odd behavior was caused by the Djinn poisoning the water supply."

"Yeah, but Edan told me all that. What are you talking about?"

"The connection. Cal don't you see? It was the water. Just like the Djinn said, it was always in the water. Water is what everyone had in common. All those odd behavior cases happened in the same geographic area. All the locations used the same water and power supply lines. Luna, the werewolf was a track runner, she drank large volumes of tap water every day. You saw the picture of her with the refillable water bottle right?"

I nodded.

"The dryad is a oak tree spirit. From where do trees draw their power? Their life?"

I jumped excitedly to answer. I was starting to catch on, "The water! Trees suck up water!"

Niko smiled a little, after all, teachers love it when students begin to understand what is going on. "Right. You were drinking the water from the tap in the bar. Quite a bit actually. Speaking of the Ninth Circle, everyone's been a bit on edge, probably because of the water in the ice cubes used for some of the drinks. I take it you guys make your own ice."

I nodded again. "Most of it yeah."

"That's what I thought. I was telling Donovan in the car about all our recent cases, and then he mentioned you and all your water-cup habits. It just fit." Niko frowned. "I didn't even consider that clue until he brought it up. I guess it is good to have an outside opinion every now and then."

"Big surprise Nik, you're not omnipotent. You don't have the power to know everything."

"But I know _you._ I should have known Cal."

There was a knock on the window, and I looked to see Donovan rap two knuckles on it again. "Mr. Leandros, this is my stop."

Niko slowed to a halt with traffic. There was a red light, which was convenient.

Niko put the car in park, reached for his wallet in his coat, and turned in his seat to face Donovan. He carefully opened the blemish-free wallet –the clean freak- and pulled out six twenty-dollar-bills. My jaw dropped. Donovan took the money, tucked it in his shirt pocket, and got out of the car, careful not to touch anything metal. The car's roof only reached his hip. Man, that guy was tall. He must've gotten all the girls.

I thought he would leave, but instead he tapped lightly on Robin's window, startling the puck. Niko motioned for Robin to hand-crank the window open, and Robin complied.

Donovan reached back into his shirt pocket, and withdrew a pristine white business card. He passed it off to Niko. He looked at my brother squarely in the eyes. "I know you don't want to hear this, but keep this card just in case." His eyes narrowed, and I was sure an unspoken thought passed through them. Then he smiled and leaned back on his heels, "Remember, if you ever need a babysitter, I'm only a phone call away. Bye boys!"

He grinned a boyish grin and turned to walk away.

"What the fuck was that about," I said, not really expecting an answer.

I blanked for a second.

"Niko, did you just pay him $120 bucks? Do you have any idea how many tips it takes to make $120 dollars?"

"Don't worry Cal," he said sarcastically, with all the calm in the world, "You're worth it."

* * *

**URRRR... I wanted to add more to this chapter, clarify, mix up the language, and proof more (Cus I'm unhappy with it right now! There are so many things wrong with it); but after 5 weeks of NOT doing it, I decided I might as well get it up here. Sorry for being lazy and taking so long to put this up. Thanks for sticking with me guys. There is a possibility of a sequel, but don't count too much on it.**

**3,316 Words.**


End file.
